Episode 907 - 11 Chefs Compete
The seventh episode of Season 9 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX on August 8, 2011. On that episode, beer was the main ingredient, another inconsistent dinner service occurred, and an early front runner was sent home. Intro While going back to the dorms, Jonathon felt that Ramsay saw some of his weaknesses that had to be brought up and was ready to buckle up after being stressed out over his nomination. Afterwards, the blue team were ready to stop losing and finally win a dinner service. Later that night, Krupa was drinking a lot, but wanted more alcohol and claimed that it was normal for a chef to drink and relax after a 16-hour shift. As Krupa’s drunk antics amused the chefs, Natalie did not think of the former as a lightweight, while Will wanted to see Krupa have some fun. Team challenge The next day, everybody was up and ready for another day, but Krupa woke up with a bad hangover, and groaned that she went overboard. When the teams came downstairs, Ramsay directed their attention to a table of ingredients he stood behind and invited them to have a look at them to get an idea of what to cook with. After getting a look at the ingredients, Ramsay sent them back in line, and asked what they would make out of the ingredients. Paul said he would make a grilled swordfish with a blood orange reduction, Elise said that she would make a fresh berry Balinese sauce with whipped cream, and Jonathon said that he would make a honey glazed pork tenderloin. Then, Ramsay called up guests Hailey and Christina for their opinions, and after looking, they said that they would use the ingredients to make beer. Afterwards, Ramsay revealed that Hailey and Christina were beer sommeliers, and the two gave out example on how they would use beer in cooking. For the Creative Beer Challenge, each team would cook a dish with beer as the main ingredient with the ability to use one or more kind of beer, but Krupa, already sick from last night, did not want to see alcohol right now. Both teams had 45 minutes to cook their dishes, and while Jonathon sampled every beer flavor provided, Ramsay told him to spend less time drinking and more time cooking. While the rest of the chefs were cooking, Tommy went back to the front for more beer, even telling Hailey and Christina that he used to run a gastropub and felt that it was his challenge to win. In the red kitchen, Krupa was performing sluggishly, even struggling to explain her rabbit dish to Ramsay, and that dismayed Jamie as she accused the former of working at 50%. Eventually both teams got their dishes cooked and plated on time, and not only did Ramsay ask them to rank their dishes 1-5 but asked the red team to drop a dish due to having an extra person. It was not long that the red team dropped Krupa’s dish as Elise deemed it nasty with lack of flavoring, pissing her off, and eventually, both teams got their rankings in order. Paul and Carrie were up first as Rank 5, and the latter presented her filet marinated in stout beer with raspberry stout sauce. The dish was praised for having the exact raspberry and beer taste, while Paul’s grilled salmon with holthuizen broth, praised for the salmon, was criticized for having a bitter broth. Carrie won that round, the red team led 1-0, and Ramsay called it her best dish so far. For Rank 4, Elise’s Belgium white beer cooked salmon was deemed interesting and lighter, while Jonathon’s dish, when revealed, shocked Ramsay as had pineapple on it, dismaying Will as it reminded him about the former’s drunk punch chicken from the Signature Dish Challenge, and Ramsay accused Jonathon of being obsessed with fruit. After, his pan-seared chicken breast with raspberry Lambic was deemed too sweet and having no balance, Elise won that round, and the score was 2-0 for the red team. On Rank 3, Jennifer’s holthuizen chicken sausage stew was criticized for looking like leftovers, while Natalie’s chocolate stout filet was praised for having the feeling of drinking a beer. So, Natalie won that round, and the red team led 2-1. During Rank 2, Elizabeth’s amber mussels and clams were deemed too salty, while Will’s Lambic infused venison loin won that round, making it a 2-point tie. On the final round, Jamie and Tommy, both named the top ranking of their teams, were up, and the former presented her Belgium white marinated duck with shallots and raspberry beer reduction. It was praised for being interesting, and Christina was happy that somebody finally used duck for their dish. After, Tommy’s duck with boiled purple potatoes in stout and Brussel sprouts cooked in holthuizen was praised for having depth as, while the duck was salty, it did not ruin the sweetness of the Lambic. After Ramsay sent the two back in line, Tommy was confident that he won that round, and in the end, he won that round, making the blue team the winners at 3-2. While the red team were despondent over losing yet another challenge, Tommy felt that he proved how awesome he was. Reward When Ramsay asked the blue team if they liked speed, Tommy jokingly asked if he meant meth or speed, making everybody laugh. The blue team was rewarded with a VIP day at the Long Beach Grand Prix Indy Car Racing. During the reward, the blue team met Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Simona De Silvestro, and as each of them got a turn to drive an Indy car, Jonathon said that he would talk about it for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, Paul tried to flirt with Silvestro, but came up short, with Will telling him to work on his game. Punishment The red team was punished by participating in delivery day, and while a dismayed Jennifer considered it the worst punishment in the show’s history, Elise was crying over it, much to Carrie’s annoyance, whom deemed the latter a spoiled child. During the punishment, a livid Elise refused to carry the ice as it was not her fault her team made rookie mistakes, Elizabeth thought that her shoulder was getting frost bite, and Carrie accidentally spilled a bag despite Sous Chef Andi’s warning not to overdo it. Later, a delivery truck of beer kegs came in, but Elise’s constant complaints led an annoyed Jennifer to deem her a diva and was done with the former’s weight. Then, Carrie tried to use the cart, but annoyingly gave it to Elise when the latter tried to pick an argument, and Jennifer felt that she hit her limit with Elise's attitude. Before service Later that night, the blue team came back from their reward and relaxed, while the red team regrouped at their bedroom as Jennifer confronted Elise on not taking the punishments seriously compared to the rest, with Krupa agreeing as she felt the latter would take the easy jobs. However, Elise argued that she was not here to break her back and that she would bust her ass cooking, while declaring that she was not here to make any friends, despite wanting their losing streak to stop. The next day, both teams began prepping, but Elise, in a change of attitude, was more helpful and asking her teammates if they needed assistance, which Jennifer took notice of . In the blue kitchen, Jonathon felt that it was time for redemption as the blue team’s services have sucked so far, and wanted to win, while Paul wanted to bounce back after his lackluster dish the previous day. After, Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen. Dinner Service Andre Carter and Matt Leinart were in attendance that night. In addition, it was beer night with each table having their own beer tower, and a Belgium ale steamed mussels and stout spiced venison were added onto the menu that night. The red team received their first order, and after Ramsay ordered them to work as a team, Elise called out times, with Jamie hoping that the former’s new attitude would stick without trying to jinx it. The new team dynamic worked as Elise and Jamie’s appetizers were accepted, and Ramsay urged them to keep it going. In the blue kitchen, Ramsay reminded Paul that it was his comeback night after his poor performance the previous service, while Natalie hoped that nobody made a mistake as one person could bring down the kitchen. While Paul’s risotto was accepted, Natalie’s scallops were rubbery, annoying the former and the blue team was forced to start over. In the red kitchen, Elise sent up an overly watered salad to the point of drippage, annoying Carrie as she warned the former to drain the liquid off the greens before service began. Then, Elise blamed Carrie for it as the latter set up appetizers, but both Carrie and Ramsay reminded her that the appetizer station was her responsibility no matter what. Despite, the red team bounce back quickly to send out more appetizers. 45 minutes into dinner service, Natalie’s refire was rubbery again, and Ramsay told her that he could even see the pan not being hot enough. Then, Ramsay discovered all the ruined scallops Natalie produced, he showed the blue team them, and a shocked Paul thought that she cooked a million ones to ruins, before Ramsay counted out 30 ruined scallops, even interrupting Jonathon when the latter was about to count along. After a furious Ramsay ordered Natalie to wake up, a shocked Will felt that the latter was sinking them like the titanic, and after helping her, the blue team finally got their appetizers out. In the red kitchen, the red team was moving onto entrées, but Krupa kept calling out two minutes on her meat, angering Jamie. Then, Jamie and Krupa sent up a pink sea bass and a raw venison respectively, with Elise commenting that nobody wanted to be the leader, so she took that role. In the blue kitchen, the blue team was now on entrées, but after Jonathon sent up Wellingtons with raw pastry, he blamed Tommy for wrapping them improperly during prep. It was then revealed that all the Wellingtons Tommy prepped were like that, and Tommy was forced to restart them from scratch, even though Will commented that Jonathon did not know how to cook if he served a raw Wellington and told the latter to man up. 90 minutes into dinner service, the blue team were stalled on the Wellington fiasco, and in the red kitchen, Krupa and Jamie each got their refires accepted. However, Elise reverted to her loud and obnoxious persona by calling out ticket orders, and when she claimed to be the only red chef that was speaking, it led to an argument between her and Jamie. In addition, Elise’s callouts were confusing Krupa, before the latter sliced into an overcooked Wellington, and to make matters worse, Ramsay discovered that all her meat was overcooked, with Elizabeth calling her a nightmare. When Krupa admitted to being frazzled, a disappointed Ramsay asked her if she would like to go home. Two hours into dinner service, Natalie expressed concern on the sea bass as she never cooked one before, and hoped not to mess up like the scallops, while Jonathon found out his Wellingtons were overcooked, before blaming Tommy for making them into balls of shit. After, Jonathon was forced to walk the overcooked Wellington, and not only was Ramsay angry about that, he was pissed about Jonathon’s nonchalant apology. Then, Natalie’s sea bass was raw, and a fed-up Ramsay kicked her and Jonathon out of the kitchen, before handing them their raw entrées to bring back to the dorms with. A pissed Jonathon expressed a desire to quit, but Ramsay told that he would have respected him more if he told him about the overcooked Wellingtons before he sent them to the pass. Then, Natalie was frustrated that she screwed up that night, while Jonathon continued to blame Tommy for wrecking his station up. Back in the blue kitchen, Tommy was on meat, Paul was on fish, and the duo along with Will began pushing out tickets for their blue diners. Eventually, both teams completed service without anymore mistakes, and while Carrie was happy to complete service, Ramsay welcomed Paul back after a strong service, with the latter celebrating in the confessional. Post-mortem When both teams were lined up, Ramsay berated them for not showing the greatness he was expecting, named both joint-losers, and asked them to nominate two each. During deliberation, Natalie felt that her inexperience on fish bit her in the ass that night, but was not ready to go home yet, before reminding Jonathon about the overcooked Wellington he sent up. However, Jonathon reminded Natalie how she ruined 30 scallops, and while Paul considered Jonathon and Natalie for elimination, Jonathon nominated Tommy for wrecking his initial Wellingtons. However, Tommy argued that Jonathon did not know how to properly cook and rest meat. On the red side, Krupa knew that she was the first nominee for the red team but was willing to fight back. For the second person, Elise nominated Jamie for being yelled by Ramsay all night, but the latter remined the former about the watery salad earlier. However, that led to an argument between the two as Jamie told Elise to take responsibility for her mistakes, while the latter accused the former of trying to nominate her. That ended when Jennifer told Jamie and Elise to shut up. Elimination Will announced Natalie as the blue team’s first nominee, and Jonathon as the second, while Carrie announced Krupa as the red team’s first nominee, and Jamie as the second, even though she personally wanted Elise nominated for dictating them. However, Elise argued that Carrie was intimidated by her vocalness, and Ramsay called the four nominees that were announced. During their pleas, Jamie knew that she was a strong chef despite her mistakes, while Krupa was confident in her abilities, even though Ramsay felt that she was on a downward spiral. Jonathon said that he wished he did not leave the blue kitchen when ordered to when he still had to will to fight, and when Ramsay asked Natalie if she could do the honorable thing by admitting defeat, she refused, as she knew she was better than that. After a difficult decision, Ramsay eliminated Krupa for her poor performance on meat, and being on a downward spiral, but before leaving, he recognized her heart. During her exit interview, Krupa expressed disappointment for going home, but knew that she did not let anybody in her family down. After Krupa left, Ramsay announced that he was not done yet, and the episode ended in a cliffhanger. Ramsay gave no comment on Krupa’s elimination, and she did not receive the coat hanging and portrait burning sequence. Category:Episodes Category:Season 9